


birthday boy

by ohlookatthestars (KanbaraAkhito)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, also jason privately idolizes babs no one can tell me otherwise, and i just want happiness for him, and i love him, enjoy frens, listen its my babys birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 06:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KanbaraAkhito/pseuds/ohlookatthestars
Summary: “They’re going to find you eventually, you know.” Barbara pressed her lips together, holding back a smile.“Over my dead body,” Jason scoffed, passing her the last plate and reaching for a towel to dry his hands.“Your body is technically legally dead,” Barbara pointed out, drawing a surprised laugh out of Jason.“Bruce would cry,” he said.





	birthday boy

Jason slipped through the window of Barbara’s apartment, watching for wires and disabling all but the alert system. It was sparse coverage for Babs, but she’d known he was coming.

He padded past the bathroom, heading for the kitchen when he heard the shower running. The fridge had been recently stocked, and Jason pondered his options before pulling a few ingredients out and hunting for the cutting board.

“That smells delicious,” Barbara said ten minutes later, wheeling to the island. She rested her arms atop it and watched Jason work.

“That’s because I can actually cook,” Jason replied, gesturing meaningfully with a wooden spoon. “Dick can tell you making toast is ‘cooking’ as many times as he wants, but it’ll never be true.”

Barbara laughed, watching Jason’s back carefully as her hand snuck toward the freshly made pasta sauce sitting invitingly on the countertop. She was bare inches away when he turned around and tapped her hand admonishingly with the wooden spoon. She drew her hand back and gave it a shake, glaring at him.

“‘I’m Jason Todd,’” she mimicked, her voice light and airy. “‘I smoke and sit on rooftops so people think I’m cool, but really I spend all my time on new recipes for my family who I pretend I don’t like.’”

Jason rolled his eyes. “If you get this defensive about having to wait for my cooking, then I suppose I’m doing my job right.”

Barbara chuckled and sat back, content to wait. A timer went off by the stove and Jason returned to the task at hand. Barbara wheeled herself to the dinner table to grab a book, and the next hour went in comfortable silence, interrupted only by the singing of Barbara’s kitchen appliances and Jason swearing at the oven.

“Good God,” Barbara moaned, “This is the best spaghetti I have ever had in the entirety of my miserable life.”

Jason gave an amused huff, munching away at a piece of garlic bread. “You flatter me, Barbie.”

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” she asked, not for the first time.

Jason just wiggled his eyebrows and she scowled.

“We’ve all got money riding on it,” she tried. “Steph maintains that the League of Assassins had you on a class schedule. ‘Culinary Arts with Talia Al Ghul’ every Tuesday and Saturday at four.”

She spun her fork in her fingers, gratified when Jason let out a real laugh.

“Alfred says he taught you a couple things when you were younger, but that still doesn’t explain this.” Barbara gestured fiercely at her plate. “You put the Italian restaurants I frequent to shame.”

Jason continued chewing his pasta, an innocent look on his face that no one with even the slightest hint of self-preservation would believe. Barbara threw a balled napkin at his head, and Jason let it hit him, putting a hand to his chest and gaping at her as though she’d wounded him. She shook her head at his antics, opting to shovel more spaghetti into her mouth.

“A magician never spills his secrets.” Jason shrugged, as though there was nothing he could do to help it.

Privately, Dick and Barbara suspected it was Catherine who taught him, but if that was the case, Jason would tell them when he was ready.

They finished dinner in the pinkish light of the setting sun, Jason stacking the plates and taking them to the sink to wash before Barbara could protest. She grumbled, but wheeled over to him, drying the dishes as he handed them over.

“They’re going to find you eventually, you know.” Barbara pressed her lips together, holding back a smile.

“Over my dead body,” Jason scoffed, passing her the last plate and reaching for a towel to dry his hands.

“Your body is technically legally dead,” Barbara pointed out, drawing a surprised laugh out of Jason.

“Bruce would cry,” he said.

“I know.” She grinned up at him before returning to her earlier point, weaving a subtle warning into her words. “But you don’t have much of a chance. Dick and Cass teamed up to find you.”

Jason groaned at the thought of being assaulted by his two older siblings. He tensed all of a sudden, turning to eye Barbara.

“Barbie,” he said, edging towards the window, “You didn’t.”

She mimicked his shrug from earlier, giving him her sweetest smile. Jason swore colorfully, clambering over the countertop to grapple out the window, but Barbara didn’t miss the smile plastered across his face.

“Happy birthday!” she called after him, and she thought she heard an answering laugh.

+

_‘I hate you.’_

_‘I assume this means they caught up to you.’_ Barbara laughed, shaking her head as she texted a reply. _‘Give up the edgy act for a few hours and enjoy your birthday, Jason.’_

_‘Never.’_

Barbara put her phone to the side, smiling fondly. It dinged a moment later as Jason’s favored phone number made a reappearance on her screen.

_‘Thanks, Babs.’_

She grinned. 

_‘Anytime, birthday boy.’_

**Author's Note:**

> i love,,their familial relationship,,,,and i love,,,them. happy birthday to the love of my life :')


End file.
